President Trump Imposes Ban on H-1B, L-1, H-2B and J-1 Entry Beginning June 24

UNITED STATES

• A presidential proclamation will suspend the entry of new H-1B, L-1, H-2B and certain J-1 nonimmigrants, as well as their spouses and dependents, from 12:01am EDT on June 24 through December 31, 2020, with limited exceptions. The proclamation also immediately extends an existing ban on certain immigrant entries through the end of this year.
• The ban does not affect foreign nationals holding valid U.S. visas or other travel documents, or those already present in the United States as of the effective date of the ban.
• The proclamation directs the immigration agencies to develop regulations to further restrict the H-1B program and to toughen standards for certain categories of employment-based permanent residence.

The issue

President Trump today signed a proclamation that will suspend the entry of foreign nationals in the H-1B, L-1, H-2B, J-1 categories, and related categories for dependents, with some exceptions.  The nonimmigrant ban takes effect at 12:01am EDT on June 24, and will be in place through December 31, 2020.

In addition, the proclamation extends the existing ban on certain immigrant entries through December 31, 2020, effective immediately. 

The proclamation is part of the Trump Administration’s response to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.  In addition to the entry bans, President Trump also ordered the Department of Homeland Security  to promulgate regulations that could make it more challenging for foreign nationals to be sponsored for H-1B nonimmigrant status or for green cards in the EB-2 and EB-3 categories. 

The proclamation and future regulatory actions are likely to be challenged in court.

Who is subject to the nonimmigrant ban

The proclamation restricts the entry of the following categories of nonimmigrants, if they are outside the United States as of 12:01am EDT on June 24 and do not hold a valid visa, advance parole or other U.S. travel document:

• H-1B and H-2B nonimmigrants;
• L-1A executives and managers;
• L-1B specialized knowledge workers;
• J-1 interns, trainees, teachers, camp counselors, au pairs and Summer Work Travel participants; and
• Their dependent spouses and children. 

The impact on Canadian nationals seeking admission in these categories – who are not required to obtain a visa to enter the United States – is not yet clear.

Exemptions and waivers

The following categories of foreign nationals are exempt from to the entry ban:

• Foreign nationals present in the United States at 12:01am EDT on June 24, 2020.  This includes those in the United States awaiting a change of status under the FY 2021 H-1B cap;
• Foreign nationals holding a valid visa, advance parole or other U.S. travel document on June 24, even if they are outside the United States when the ban takes effect;
• U.S. lawful permanent residents;
• The spouse or child of a U.S. citizen;
• J-1  exchange program participants other than interns, trainees, teachers, camp counselors, au pairs and summer work travel participants; and
• Foreign nationals entering to provide temporary labor or services essential to the U.S. food supply chain.

The proclamation also provides for discretionary waivers of the restrictions for foreign nationals whose entry would be in the U.S. national interest, including those who are necessary to facilitate the immediate and continued economic recovery of the United States, those involved with clinical care or  research related to the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of COVID-19, and those who are critical to the defense, law enforcement, diplomacy or national security of the United States.

Waiver procedures are expected to be developed by the State Department in consultation with the Departments of Labor and Homeland Security. Waivers are to be decided on a case-by-case basis and are likely to be challenging to obtain.

Duration of the nonimmigrant entry ban

The nonimmigrant ban will take effect at 12:01am EDT on June 24 and will remain in place through the end of this calendar year. The administration could elect to extend or broaden the ban in the future.

Extension of the immigrant entry ban

The proclamation extends through December 31 an earlier ban on immigrant entry, which was set to expire today. U.S. consulates will not issue employment-based, family-based or Diversity Lottery immigrant visas during this period, with limited exceptions for U.S. lawful permanent residents;  spouses of U.S. citizens; children under 21 of U.S. citizens and prospective adoptees in the IR-4 or IH-4 visa classifications; foreign nationals seeking to enter on an immigrant visa as a healthcare professional, as well as their spouse and unmarried children under 21; applicants for EB-5 immigrant visas; and those whose entry would be in the U.S. national interest.

Forthcoming regulations restricting nonimmigrant programs

As part of the Trump Administration’s effort to give priority to U.S. workers, the proclamation orders the Departments of Homeland Security and Labor to develop regulations to ensure that H-1B nonimmigrants and EB-2 and EB-3 immigrants do not disadvantage U.S. workers.  These regulations could impose more stringent H-1B eligibility criteria and wage obligations, change the way the H-1B quota is allocated to give priority to certain classes of beneficiaries, impose obligations on the vendors of companies placing H-1B workers at end-client locations, as well as on end-client companies themselves, increase worksite enforcement investigations, and toughen labor certification standards for permanent residence in the EB-2 and EB-3 categories.  Some of these regulations could be implemented on a fast track.

What the proclamation means for employers and foreign nationals

Today’s proclamation means that many foreign nationals with plans to enter the United States to begin work in H-1B, H-2B, L-1 or J-1 status, as well as their accompanying or joining dependents, may be unable to do so until the ban expires, unless they are sponsored for and obtain a waiver of the entry restrictions, or unless the ban is enjoined by a court.

Though the proclamation does not affect foreign nationals who are present in the United States or already hold valid visas, future regulations could make it more difficult for these individuals to change to or extend H-1B status or be sponsored by their employers for permanent residence in the EB-2 and EB-3 categories.

As a reminder, foreign nationals who are exempt from the new proclamation remain subject to ongoing COVID-19 travel restrictions, which could impede their ability to enter or reenter the United States.

The Tourist/Visitor Visa for a Filipina

We get many inquiries about tourist/visitor visas. Just think about this for a moment, a properly prepared visa application with an applicant that meets all of the requirements only has a 70% chance of being approved. Now the U.S. Embassy took your money to do this visa and suddenly you have nothing but they have your money! Yes, you can reapply as many times as you want with a good possibility of the same outcome.

The tourist/visitor visa is VERY difficult for Filipinos to obtain. Most tourist visa applications in the Philippines are denied. The reason for this is there are currently over 300,000 Filipinos in the U.S that got there on a tourist visa, and stayed.

There are many factors the consul will look at when they interview a tourist visa applicant. The applicant’s age, sex, marital status, financial status, all will be considered when a consul looks at an application.

If the applicant is young, single, and female, it is guaranteed she will be denied unless she is from a wealthy family, a high ranking government official or a Philippine movie star and even they are frequently denied. If the applicant indicates he or she has a fiancé that is a U.S. citizen, it is guaranteed that the application will be denied and she will be advised to file a K-1 visa.

Consuls are instructed to assume a tourist B2 applicant is trying to use the tourist B2 visa to immigrate; it is up to the applicant to provide the proper documentation to prove that they have valid, compelling reasons to return to the Philippines.

This evidence must be in the form of strong ties to the Philippines. The applicant must demonstrate that they have NO REASON to want to stay in the U.S and compelling reasons to return to the Philippines. Home/property ownership, a successful business, a good paying job that the applicant has been on for a long time, strong family and community ties to the Philippines, such as being a Lions club or Rotary club member. All of this evidence must be shown before a visitor visa may be granted. Even then, there is no guarantee that a visa will be granted.

The owner of a very large firm here in Cebu city was denied a tourist visa to take his wife and three children to Disneyland for only 2 weeks, why? Because he had 5 million U.S dollars in his Philippine bank account, the consul told him that he was going to go to the states and stay with the money! Now this man has a business in Cebu that caters to American clients this is why he has all the U.S dollars, his business has many employees and he has been in business for many years, he owns a very beautiful home that is valued at 30 million pesos this is about $750,000.00 and he was still turned down.

Most of our clients apply for fiancée or spousal visas after being denied a tourist visa as this method is guaranteed for qualified applicants.

We recently had a client who had applied five times and was denied every time only because she did not properly answer the questions. With a little coaching her application was approved, they got the visa. Trust me this is not always the case but many of the applications say the wrong thing and are denied because of just plain dumb answers.

When you get to the interview the consul has already read you’re on line application and has made his decision. This is why many applicants tell us that the consul did not even look at my documents. The reason they do not look at your pile of documents proving your eligibility when you walk in for the interview is because your initial on line application was flawed and the consul has already made his decision.

In conclusion, let me say this if you want to try for a Tourist/Visitor visa get some professional help it can make all the difference.

Male foreigners who have the intention to marry Filipinas will now have to comply with additional requirements after the House of Representatives approved on final reading House Bill 2387, which aims to protect Filipino women against exploitation.

The bill, which was proposed by former Cebu governor and current third district Representative Gwendolyn Garcia, amends the purpose of Article 21 of Executive Order No. 209, or the Family Code of the Philippines.

Garcia is optimistic that the objective of the bill, which was strongly endorsed by Representative Marlyn Primicias-Agabas, chairperson of the sponsor – House Committee on Revision of Laws, would also earn the support of the Upper House.

“The main objective of HB 2387 is to protect Filipino women against exploitation by foreigners who marry them without evident means to support a family”, Garcia explained.

Garcia pointed out the “public knowledge that some of the foreigners coming to the Philippines in order to marry Filipino women are vagabonds or social and moral derelicts in their own country and whose real motive for marriage is only to take advantage and exploit our women by making them work and worse, by sending them to prostitution and other degrading and dehumanizing occupations.”

“The exploitations of our women, thru the so-called mail-order or pen-pal, Facebook, website and other internet-arranged marriages, have caused not only untold miseries and sufferings for the victims but also brought dishonor and disgrace to Filipino womanhood”, Garcia emphasized.

According to HB 2387, foreign male citizens who intend to marry a Filipina are obliged to provide certificates stating his good moral character and that he has a gainful trade, business, employment or other lawful source of income.

In line with this, the measure seeks to amend the current Section 21 of the Family Code of the Philippines by adding the following: “…when the male contracting party is a foreigner, in addition to the certificate of legal capacity, a certificate of good moral character and a certificate of gainful trade, business employment or other lawful source of income issued by his diplomatic or consular official, must be submitted before a marriage license can be obtained.”

At present, Sec. 21 only provides that: “When either or both of the contracting parties are citizens of a foreign country, it shall be necessary for them before a marriage license can be obtained, to submit a certificate of  legal capacity contract marriage, issued by their respective diplomatic or consular officials.”

Likewise, “stateless persons or refugees from other countries shall, in lieu of the certificate herein required, submit an affidavit stating the circumstances showing such capacity to contract marriage.”

The Department of Justice, in coordination with the Department of foreign Affairs, department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Interior and Local Government, Philippines Commission of
Women, Commission of Filipinos Overseas and Philippine Statistics Authority, shall promulgate the rules and regulations necessary for the implementation of the proposed Act within 90 days from enactment.

Hiring the wrong people to process your Visa!

Wherever there is a need, expert consultants will appear to help with that need and immigration is no different. There is an amazingly diverse group of people who will claim to be able to help you with your Fiancée or Spouse’s visa and many of them will be experts in just a part of the process.

But getting only part of the process right will still result in a Visa denied. You must get everything right to obtain a visa for your Fiancée or Spouse!

People claiming to have expertise in immigration include:

• Lawyers in the sponsor’s country of origin – They will certainly be able to help the sponsor with the necessary paperwork on his side, but usually have very little knowledge of the Philippines and will be of no help at all to the Filipina Fiancée or Spouse!
• Lawyers in the Philippines – These people will usually be able to get the Philippine requirements right, but usually offer very little support for the Fiancée or Spouse and she will probably face the interview unprepared.  They also have limited or no knowledge of the sponsor’s side of the process and will give very little support to them. They are also often very difficult to deal with when you are in another country!
• Travel agents and other people in the Philippines who have limited experience working with Visa processing. This industry has sprung up quite recently and these people will offer a very low cost, low quality service. Their lack of experience will begin to show as you go part way through the process. Important things will be overlooked and there will be little preparation for either party.

Unfortunately, you get what you pay for with immigration services too. Somebody who is cheap is cheap for a reason, they are usually just starting out, or they are desperate for clients because they are not getting referrals from anybody.

Their communication is notoriously bad. When you call their line, you will usually get somebody who barely speaks English, who will simply tell you the person you are looking for is “Not around”.

The low cost operators live for the “Deposit”. They are continually chasing the next deposit, leaving the hard work to later and you waiting endlessly to have your Fiancée or Spouse’s visa processed!

If you truly love your Fiancée or Spouse, why put her fate and yours in the hands of the lowest bidder?

Saving money on your immigration specialist is false economics in the extreme! The money you save will quickly be eaten up by additional airfares, accommodation and loss of income when your Visa is denied and you have to go through the whole process again. Not to mention the frustration and stress suffered by both you and your Fiancée or Spouse… It is just not worth it!

Did you know that anyone in the United States can obtain a Social Security card? There are three types of social security cards, and each has a distinct function. Today we will discuss each one so you can see how they relate to immigration and resident status.

1. Unrestricted Social Security Card: These cards are for anyone authorized to live permanently or indefinitely in America (citizen or permanent resident status). This is the most desirable card as it provides the easiest access to jobs and social services.

2. Restricted Social Security Card: These are issued to a person that is authorized to work in America for a limited period of time.

3. Non-working Social Security Card: These cannot be used to apply for work but can be used to open accounts at financial institutions and for tax identification purposes.

If applying for a restricted social security card, know that you must prove (via the appropriate documentation) that you are authorized to work in the US, unless your employer has already been approved for I-129 petition documentation on your behalf. Do not expect to be approved for a restricted social security card and obtain work if you are a visitor to America, or have non-immigrant (foreign national) status.

That being said, there are two instances when non-immigrants can legally work in the U.S.: the sponsor company has received special permission to employ the employee for a specific job and has proved that the worker and the job fall under specialized requirements; or, there are extenuating circumstances such as a post-secondary student residing in America completing practical training to support their career.

When immigrating, visiting for an extended period of time, or sponsoring an immigrant, you must know the restrictions on the various types of social security cards available. Visit www.ssa.gov and www.ssa.gov/people/immigrants to learn more.